Gluten Free Monkey Bread!

I want to preface this post with an apology. You see, I have a list from the boys stuck on the fridge of things I must make for them. This was on the top and I had to make it gluten free because it would be cruel to bake something like this that we all could not enjoy. I now have a happy family!

Now, let's go back to being a kid again. If you asked me to pick one childhood favorite food memory, it is definitely monkey bread. We cut the biscuits up , shook them in cinnamon and sugar (a few may have been eaten just like that-shhh don't tell), then poured melted butter all over it...heaven! Definitely not health food, but everything in moderation in our house. Trust me, we ate our vegetables too!

The unfortunate part about moderation with monkey bread is that you can never get the thing even. You see these little dough balls leave a space next to the others that needs to be evened out every time you walk by the bread.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but I just needed to warn you, before you make it...it will never even out.

When I was a kid, we used canned biscuits.  So when we had our biscuit brunch a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had found the base to "our" monkey bread.  Some people make it with yeast dough, but I wanted to make like the illustrator and I remember it! It was seriously the best feeling being able to grab one of those buttery cinnamon sugar balls and eat it! All the boys looked at me in amazement that I could eat it too!

Truth be told, I could have done this years ago with my dairy free biscuit recipe, but for those of you out there with food allergies and intolerances, you know that at some point you just don't want to make anyone "suffer" eating for your food issues. I got to the point where even if I made something that I could eat (vegan or dairy free) people (not my boys-they always welcomed my dairy free versions of food) would gobble it up until they saw me eat it and then they would immediately ask what I did to it. I got tired of being judge like that. So, I just stopped cooking for me all the time. The boys have gotten to the point now where they want to eat what I am eating and since the illustrator can't have gluten and he is going easy on dairy, cooking and baking for all of us has made me feel so much more open about food! I am loving all these old favorites!

This version is a little denser than the fluffy gluten filled biscuits, but it is a perfect gluten free version of our old family favorite!

I let it sit in the pan for a few minutes like I did my old recipe, but realized that it was not necessary when a quarter of it stuck to the bundt pan. So the evening out issue continued!

Gluten Free Monkey Bread

369 grams (about 2 1/2 cups) Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit Mix***
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Smart Balance Light
1/2 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk
1/2 cup water

Combine the biscuit mix and the baking powder in a bowl and mix well. Next, using a fork or a pastry blender, cut the Smart Balance into the biscuit mix until it looks like little pebbles. Then add the coconut milk and stir until combined. Add the water a little bit at a time if you need it until the dough comes together. It should be sticky, but not wet.

3/4 cup sugar
5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup Smart Balance Light (melted)

Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a tupperware with a lid.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.

Scoop the dough into tablespoon sized balls and put them in the sugar mixture a few at a time.  I used a small cookie scoop to scoop the dough to make it really easy. Shake the dough balls around to coat them in sugar and then put them in the prepared pan.  Do this with all of the dough.  Next pour the melted Smart Balance evenly over the dough.  Place it in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Here is the tricky part...I would wait maybe 2 minutes to let it set and then flip it out on a serving dish.

***I did the biscuit mix by weight since the gluten free flours are a little heavier. For non gluten free, I use the small four pack of biscuits in the refrigerator section at the grocery store.

Alisa at One Frugal Foodie is putting together an e-book for healthy back to school foods. If you would like to participate, go check out her site!